Independents' Film Fest Best of the Fest
(released 9/5/2007)


The Independents' Film Festival Best of the Fest will take place at 8:00 p.m. Sept. 14, 2007 at Tampa Theatre. These are the "Best" films from a field of 270 submissions that were selected by a panel of experts according to strict guidelines for technical quality, creative and artistic merit. An award ceremony will begin at 8:00 p.m. followed immediately by the film screenings. A Q & A with guest filmmakers will follow the screening. Tickets are $8.00 and available day of show only at the box office. Films to be screened include:

Best Mini Student Film
Heading South, (Safia M. Dirie, FSU)
This film is a World Premiere written and directed by Safia M. Dirie, an MFA student at FSU Film School. Roger kidnaps his daughter because he wants to be closer to her, but he has to consider the ramifications of his actions. Will his decision ruin their father-daughter relationship?

Best Student Animation
End, (Joe Ark Sun, Ringling)
Joe Ark Sun recently graduated from Ringling College of Art & Design with a BFA. After a short trip to visit relatives in Taiwan, he was immediately hired by Dreamworks in California where he is a character FX animator working on Kung Fu Panda.

Best Mini Independent Film
Saturday Night Newtown Sunday Morning Enmore, (Christopher Johnson, Australia) Australian Director Christopher Johnson made this film - his third - as a participant of Project Greenlight Australia 2006 - a competition in which he came in second. The budget was $30,000, it was shot on Super-16mm, and he used a crew and part of a cast he built up over the three months he was a contestant on Project Greenlight.

Best Experimental Film
Eggs Side Dish, (Yolanda de los Bueis, England)
A world premiere of an experimental film by Producer/Director Yoland de los Bueis of London who inquiries into what happens when raindrops, bubbles and bells play with horns and drums in an air traffic control tower. Is this a child being playful or a scientist gone mad who imagines himself directing an impossible audiovisual orchestra in High Def?

Best Independent Animation
The Madness of Being, (Hal Miles, Savannah)
The Madness of Being is an stop motion animation created by Hal Miles, a teacher at the Savannah School of Art and Design where he heads up the program. Miles has worked with the great innovators of the entertainment industries such as George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Jim Cameron.

Best Student Short Film
The Little Gorilla, (Harry Kellerman, Columbia U)
Harry Kellerman Columbia University Graduate Film School student directs this film about a boy who must find the courage to climb a tall and scary jungle gym. In the shadows of looming NYC skyscrapers, and an older brother who lacks faith, the Little Gorilla must unchain the King Kong within.

Best Independent Short Film
Sharq, (Erik Sandoval, California)
Directed by Erik Sandoval says, "It is the responsibility of filmmakers to create their own voice that can set them apart from the unique visions of all other independent filmmakers. For me, this voice is one of social change. The films I, as an artist, seek to create are those which are thought-provoking and resonate with society's current problems; not to offer a solution, necessarily, but simply to open topics up for debate – something we rarely experience in a movie theater."

At its core, Sharq is a film about democracy. A small group of young Kuwaiti and American artists have sought to bring the artistic democracy of film to a place thirsty for its presence. The question of America’s current pursuit to bring 'liberty,' 'freedom,' and 'democracy' to the Middle East is central to this film. Is 'Shock and Awe' by a superpower democratic? Does the Arab world fear and hate democracy as we are so often told? Do the so-called 'terrorists' seek to abolish individual representation or do they simply seek to reinforce it, not via American laws and rule, but by Arab? What are the true fears and insecurities behind these conflicts?

WOW Award Winner
Live, Love, Work, Play, (Thomas Atanazio, Brazil)
In this world premiere from Brazil, director, Thomas Atanazio, and digital effects designer, Thomas Egas, have created a live action/animation mini film that shows that you have the power to change. Do what you believe and you will end up where you belong.

Florida Choice Award Winners
Feet: A Story About Sole Mates (Sarah Wilson, USF)
Feet is a whimsical boy-meets-girl story with a unique perspective on true sole mates.

Mr. Bubbs (Todd Thompson, Orlando)
A stranger picks the wrong girl to kidnap one bright, sunny day in suburbia. This mini film stars Kendall Ganey (The Little Princess) and Alan Lilly (Bully, The Punisher) and was initially produced as a submission piece for Steven Spielberg's On The Lot film contest.

For information about the Independents' Film Festival films, filmmakers, events or process call The Education Channel (813) 254-2253 x 206 or check the website at www.indiefilmfest.us. The Education Channel, Explorer Channel and Independents' Film Festival are services of Tampa Educational Cable Consortium (TECC). The Education Channel (703 N Willow Avenue, Tampa, FL 33606) is a non profit, non commercial television station whose parent organization, TECC, links the major educational and cultural institutions of Hillsborough County to improve the quality of life by disseminating knowledge and encouraging education. For additional information about programs at The Education Channel call 254-2253 ext. 211 or check www.educationchannel.org.


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